As a business owner it is your job to sell a product or service to your target market. Here’s something you need to understand about selling, it’s about timing. Not your timing mind you, it’s about your target market’s timing. When they get ready to buy, they will.
You know what that means? It is your job to keep your business in front of them until that time comes.
Sound simple?
Not so much.
This is very simple marketing logic that many totally dismiss. This dismissal costs them THOUSANDS in lost sales each year.
Lost sales which could have helped them to make their goals or could have even prevented them from shutting their doors. Sadly, I see it happen too often.
Your Greatest Asset in Your Business
One of your greatest assets in your business is your list. A list of people who have at one time or another either did business with you or were considering it. It’s important to start growing your list as soon as possible.
The reason is, your list is like a retirement investment strategy; it’s not something you can create in a hot minute. It takes years to build a great list and that is why you should start ASAP. Even if you have zero intentions of leveraging the email addresses right now in this hot minute STILL continue building the list!
Email Addresses are Currency
Keeping a great database of customers and contacts is crucial to the growth of your business. Email marketing is a very powerful and under-leveraged tool.
I can’t tell you how many times a client will say to me, “Well, I don’t do email marketing because I personally don’t like getting emails.”
Hmmmmmm.
Last I heard you weren’t selling your products and services to yourself, I don’t think you could survive that way. Also, assuming your target market is exactly like you and thinks exactly like you means you are way out of touch with your customer. Not to mention you may have a little bitty ego problem but we’ll save that for a different lesson. 🙂
Being able to stay in front of your list on a regular basis is like money in the bank. People will buy from you once they trust and like you and no matter where the digital world takes us nothing will ever change that fact.
Email marketing is a great way to build trust, prove yourself as a leader in your space, educate and share information that is helpful and perhaps even critical to your target market.
Because of the fact that selling is about timing, you will use your list to stay in front of existing and potential customers/clients/patients and remind them of your value.
Don’t Rely on Building Social Media Communities
Not too long ago I had someone tell me the reason why they don’t focus on growing their list is because they focus on growing their social media communities instead.
Here’s the problem there – you are shouting out to masses, there is no engagement or tracking ability in that.
Not to mention you are building a marketing strategy on rented land.
Don’t rely on communicating with an audience on Facebook – they are constantly changing their algorithm and their business model. Do you really want to rely solely on communicating with your target market through them?
Why Email Marketing is So Powerful
I am here to tell you email is not dead – not even close! I love email marketing because it allows me to hold my finger on the pulse of the community I have built.
Let me explain what I mean by that – email marketing has a reporting element which means after you send an email you can go back and see how many people opened it, and how many clicked etc. This information is SUPER valuable. Instead of you deciding what your target market is really interested in or concerned about this is a way for them to tell you!
THIS is the type of listening to your target market that closes the communication gap and puts you closer to growing your business.
I remember a few years ago when I wrote my book Yanking Bootstraps, I put snippets of my content outline in my newsletters and over time I could see which content performed the best. And guess what? THAT was the content that made it into the book instead of what I wanted to include, I let my audience decide for me.
Additionally email marketing can be used to:
- Let your customers know when new products come out.
- Let your customers see what you go through in building your business.
- Educate them on matters you know they have interest in.
- Feature your customers to your other customers.
- and so much more!
If you aren’t doing a great job of growing your list get started today! It is like a good retirement plan, it’s money in the bank for when you get ready to use it.
If you need tips on growing your list reach out to me it’s what I do.Â
